Naptime

If only.

Pushed out?

From the ever-informative Joe My God (www.joemygod.com) comes this tidbit from a book review by Dan Savage. I have read much about Chu’s book, and have put it on my summer reading list. However, Dan sums up my thoughts about religion in his review perfectly:

"My father was a Catholic deacon, my mother was a lay minister and I thought about becoming a priest. I was in church every Sunday for the first 15 years of my life. Now I spend my Sundays on my bike, on my snowboard or on my husband. I haven’t spent my post-Catholic decades in a sulk, wishing the church would come around on the issue of homosexuality so that I could start attending Mass again. I didn’t abandon my faith. I saw through it. The conflict between my faith and my sexuality set that process in motion, but the conclusions I reached at the end of that process — there are no gods, religion is man-made, faith can be a force for good or evil — improved my life. I’m grateful that my sexuality prompted me to think critically about faith.

Pushed out? No. I walked out."

Dan Savage, from his New York Times book review of Jeff Chu's Does Jesus Really Love Me?

Me on the Bart Hawley Show, JTV, Jackson, MI

Bart, never work with kids or pets. Anna on the green couch c.  2006.

Want to know what I sound like?
Want to see and hear me talk about my book?
Want to see my rockin' bow tie?
Follow the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y5xrWTcKhk

Again, an update

Ah, the joys of publishing! Read on for an update on the book.

Yes, we actually have them this time.

My book, Jesus has Two Daddies will be for sale exclusively at I’ve Been Framed here in Jackson! However, if you are not in the area and want a copy please check out Amazon or Barnes and Noble. The delays and issues that were a problem a month ago appear to have been corrected.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Has-Daddies-Thomas-McMillen-Oakley/dp/1938110048/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1362598469&sr=1-1

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jesus-has-two-daddies-thomas-mcmillen-oakly/1113755109?ean=9781938110047

Ignore the “not available” and order away!

If you are in the Jackson area, join us for a Meet the Author and Book Signing on Friday March 15^th 2013 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at I’ve Been Framed. 

We’ll have snacks and beverages and you’ll get a chance to pick up your own signed copy of the book.

You’ll also support a fine local business and a bevy of Michigan artists.

Address: 866 North Wisner Street, Jackson, MI 49202

Phone:(517) 783-3810

Again, thanks for all the great feedback and support. I am truly honored and blessed to have such great folks behind me.

Rock Star Parents.

There is a meme floating around the internets that likens being a parent to being a rock star. At first, I passed thinking it wasn't me, but as I reread the 10 points, I began nodding in agreement and images from my life as a parent flashed in my head.

1.       Endless hours on the road with too many people in the vehicle. Not so much for us. Our daily commutes are less than 15 minutes and we divide and conquer to get the kids to school. However, road trips across the state to visit either grandparent’s house can be a major test of nerve and sanity.

2.       Your job is to entertain a room full of loud, writhing maniacs. See above. Sometimes Nick Jr. or the Disney Channel will do the entertaining. Sometimes it’s an Ipad or Kindle. Meal times at our place often resemble the video “The One Thing” by INXS, complete with the cat roaming around on the dining room table.

3.       If you do your job well, people will ask you to produce more. Okay, we’ll only be a two album band, and thankfully for us there are no such things as surprise adoptions.

4.       You ask yourself daily, “Am I tripping? Or did I just see that?” Just when you think you have seen your kids do every crazy or dangerous thing, something else happens and you are thankful that you didn't have to call 911.

5.       Your name is always shouted, never spoken. Our daughter rarely talks, she goes right to screaming. With the way she screams “PAPA! ELI IS (insert little brother mischief here)!!!” you’d think he was hitting her with a baseball bat. Granted, that has happened, and the offending weapon has been retired. Having someone make a face at you is NOT a reason to scream bloody murder.

6.       Someone is always pulling at your clothes. Yup, just the other day, I was crashed on the couch watching TV in my pajama pants. Eli comes up, pulls them down and smacks my ass. Nice. Not even a hello or a get out. Instead, all I got was a “I spanked your booty!” and a giggle.

7.       Groupies follow you to the bathroom. We have one bathroom in our 107 year-old home that has a workable lock. It is my fortress of solitude in the morning. While using the bathroom connected to our bedroom one morning, both kids, the cat, and our dog all managed to get in the bathroom whilst I pooped. I doubt Superman went to his fortress to poop, but I wouldn't blame him.

8.       There’s a different person in your bed every night. Sometimes even two. Thankfully the kids are now sleeping on their own and aside from the occasional bad dream or puking, we rarely get nocturnal visitors. However, in the morning we will all pile up on the bed and watch some cartoons together. Fathers’ Day is another day that our breakfast (donuts and juice) are brought to us and we all eat and hang out. The linens and comforter all go straight to the laundry afterwards. Not because of crabs, booze and vomit, but because of spilled juice, crumbs and assorted other messes.

9.       At the end of your day, you’re sweaty and your hair is a mess. Meh, this was me BEFORE I had kids.

10.   Screaming is part of the job. I swear to god, I sound like the lead singer for Linkin Park some days. And yet, for all the screaming and yelling at 11, sometimes it’s like I am on mute and they didn't even hear me. I can be two feet from them, and in a normal voice say “don’t do (insert stupid kid thing here).” And the behavior continues. I will repeat “don’t do (insert stupid kid thing here)” at a louder volume and usually they are startled enough to stop whatever kid thing they were doing. And yes grandmothers, we've had their hearing checked and it’s completely fine.

So, are we rock stars as parents? I think so. Some mornings I wake up feeling like Steven Tyler looks, but I soldier on. You have to bring it to the stage each and every day. You have to break through your lack of sleep and kick it out of the stadium even if you are hung over or exhausted from an early evening out with your friends. From now on, I plan to start each day with the portable sound system we got for tailgating and scream down the hall to wake the kids…

“Check. Check. Sibilant. Sibilant.”

And then, with the speaker at 11…

“HELLO JACKSON! ARE YOU READY TO ROCK AND ROLL?!!!” 

New year, new update

First off, I want to let you know that the formatting of the Kindle version of the book is a little whack. The publisher and Amazon are dealing with the problem and they are working to fix it. When the bugs are fixed, we’ll send an update. One of my friends said it looked like a hastily made ransom note in areas. If you can overlook that, download and read away! The reviews are positive and people really like the book. 

Meanwhile, the book will be available for purchase and delivery soon. Due to my surgery and the holidays, we had a few setbacks in getting it to the printer.

However, if you are in the area, my book will be for sale exclusively at I’ve Been Framed here in Jackson after February 8th!

Join us for a Meet the Author and Book Signing on

Friday February 15^th 2013 from 5 to 8 pm at I’ve Been Framed. We’ll have snacks and beverages of all sorts and you’ll get a chance to pick up your own signed copy of my book, Jesus Has Two Daddies.

You’ll also get a chance to support a fine local business and a bevy of Michigan artists.

Address: 866 North Wisner Street, Jackson, MI 49202

Phone:(517) 783-3810

Thanks for all the great feedback and support. I am truly honored and blessed to have such great folks behind me.

T

A very special holiday message from JH2D, 2012

I had a boyfriend in college named Steve. He was from Texas and was a big ol’ Bubba. Our time together was short, as he was HIV positive. However during this time; I became very close with him and his family. Steve passed away on Christmas Day 1993. As I mention in my book, my first thoughts each Christmas morning are of Stephen and our time together.

Each year I get a card from his mom, this year was no exception. I was home alone recovering from my foot surgery when the mail came the other day. I struggled to pick the mail up off the floor from my wheelchair, and cart it to the dining room table in my lap. I began to open cards and read them while I drank a cup of tea. The card from his mom had this written on the inside:

Dear Family

About two week before Stephen passed away some of my lady friends were in his room visiting. He said “Well ladies, I will soon be driving my ‘heavenly bus in the sky’ and I will be there to pick you up when your time comes around. Don’t be late, because the buses don’t wait for no one!”

After the shooting in Connecticut, I light a candle by Stephen’s picture knowing in my heart he was there to pick up those children and their little spirits and take them to a peaceful place.

What a beautiful family you have. 

All my love.

Rose Mary.

I was stunned by the simple beauty of this short note and sat for a moment with tears running down my face as I remembered Steve and tried to understand the tragedy in Connecticut. We recently attended the annual Christmas in the City Cabaret at the Michigan Theatre here in Jackson. It’s our yearly break from the insanity of the holidays and the craziness the kids bring with the season. The song that stuck with me the most was their rendition of “Let there be peace on Earth” which was dedicated to those that lost their lives that horrible day a few weeks ago. I normally pass on this chestnut of a tune, but for some reason, this year it seemed right to hear.

Light a candle for someone you love today and rekindle their memory during this darkest time of year.

It is my hope that you and yours are well and that you might enjoy the peace that we all need and desire.

Tom, Tod, Anna, and Eli.